Small Strokes Big Oaks

If you’ve been a good Chifem, you’ve been reading The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht! Hopefully you’re finished or almost there, because we are meeting on Sunday, January 22 (check the link for place and time) for an in-person discussion.

If you’ve read the book but can’t make it, our discussion questions are after the cut. Feel free to comment here or on our Goodreads page if you would like to virtually participate.

Furthermore, I’d love to have the next book picked by the end of the meeting, so if you have suggestions, pass them along and we’ll talk about them next Sunday!

Without further ado, here are the questions. Don’t read them if you haven’t finished, because there are some spoilers!

1. What do you think is the significance of the title, The Tiger’s Wife? Since much of the action did not involve the tiger’s wife herself, why do you believe this was the title chosen?
2. How did rumors, gossip, and superstition play an important role in this book? How were these elements related to the gender roles characters took on?
3. What superstitions and traditions surrounded death in the novel? Do you or your family have similar traditions regarding death?
4. Have you read The Jungle Book? Did that help or hurt your understanding of the novel? When we find out that it was not among the grandfather’s things Natalia finds after his death, what did you think happened to it?
5. Why did Obreht not name the city and country in which the novel took place? What effect did this have on the other elements of the story?
6. How did you feel about the style and format of the novel? Were the flashbacks and stories within stories helpful in setting the mood and moving the plot forward, or did you find it confusing?
7. Natalia says the key to her grandfather’s life and death “lies between two stories: the story of the tiger’s wife, and the story of the deathless man.” Stories are very powerful in our lives. How do we use stories to help us understand ourselves and others?
8. The deathless man tells people they are going to die, and then, at dinner before the bombing of Sarobor, he says he has decided not to do this anymore. If you were confronted with the deathless man, would you want to know you were going to die?
9. Which of the characters in the novel was the most sympathetic? Which was the antagonist? Which was the protagonist? Which was your favorite?
10. What were some of the themes Obreht tackled in this novel? Which resonated with you the most?